Biology
A Coral Reef’s Battle for Survival Is Revealed by a New Microscope
A new seafloor microscope is revealing life-and-death battles between hair-thin creatures
Stories by Josh Fischman
Public Health
Standard Treatments for Drug Addiction
Here are treatments that have been well-studied, and the evidence for how well they work—or do not
Chemistry
Molecular Machine-Makers Grab the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
A trio who built motors and devices a fraction the size of a human hair has set the stage for a new type of industry
Biology
Crops That Grow in Salty Water [Video]
Two scientists describe attempts to find genes that help endangered crops survive rising salt levels
EARTH
Take the Most Hazardous Science Quiz Ever
How many active volcanoes does the U.S. have? Where is sea level rising the fastest? These 10 questions test your risk savvy
Biology
Jellyfish Physics Aid Submarine Design [Video]
The effective swimming motions of jellyfish inspire submarine design and medical diagnotics
Natural Disasters
Rivers Can Resist Floods from Climate Change
Heavy rainstorms, tied to global warming, will not send gravelly, stony rivers raging over the landscape
Biology
How Jellyfish Became the Ocean's Most Efficient Swimmers
Jellyfish manipulate physics to become the most efficient animals moving in the sea
Natural Disasters
Ecuador Quake Is on a Fault That Generates Monster Shakers
This region, where the ground beneath the Pacific is shoving underneath South America, produced the biggest earthquake ever recorded—and built the Andes
Chemistry
When Art Falls Apart
As plastic used in modern art degrades, scientists turn to nanotechnology to put it back together
Evolution
Giant Eruptions and Giant Extinctions [Video]
Researchers explain how they tied a period of fierce, extensive volcanic activity to a terrible extinction that nearly wiped all life off our planet
Physics
Gravitational Waves Found: Kip Thorne Explains
Scientific American 's Josh Fischman talks with renowned astrophysicist and general relativity expert Kip Thorne about the discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO Project, co-founded by Thorne...
Health
Treating a Stuffed Head [Video]
State of the art help for chronic sinus infections
The Sciences
4 New Superheavy Elements Verified
The seventh row of the periodic table is now complete
Sustainability
Arsenic Contaminates India's Drinking Water [Video]
Scientists discuss how agriculture and irrigation are changing underground water flows, rerouting them through contaminated ground
Sustainability
Plight of the Long-Distance Flyers
Individual countries may protect migratory birds but the great length of their journeys are endangered
Health
More Women Are Choosing Long-Acting Birth Control Now
The pill is still popular but use of devices like IUDs has nearly doubled in the U.S. since 2010, according to government statistics
The Sciences
Chemistry Nobel Prize for 2015 Goes to Discovery of DNA Repair
Three scientists who found ways that cells fix damaged DNA—staving off cancer and other diseases—have won this year's prize
Conservation
How to Move a Forest of Genes
Sally Aitken of the University of British Columbia is using state-of-the art genomics and climate-mapping technologies to match trees to rapidly changing climates
The Sciences
Catholic Spies in the New World? Relics Pose New Puzzle about Early American Colony
A recently unearthed burial in Jamestown, Va., from the early 1600s shows signs of Catholic rituals that are hard to explain in a colony set against the papacy
